More Kiwi blokes using 'Brotox' to look fresher and be less sweaty

"I always looked horrified and constipated at the same time, and that was gone. I was cool as a cucumber."

That was one of the immediate outcomes of Botox for Colin Mathura-Jeffree, a high-fashion model since the 1990s who was a judge and runway mentor on the TV show New Zealand’s Next Top Model.

The injectable medicine also freshened his appearance and restored lost symmetry to his face. It was around 2010 when he got the freebie as part of a promotion for Botox, the branded and most common name for botulinum toxin. It temporarily paralyses areas where it is injected, most likely in the face, preventing frowning, squinting, and other facial expressions that can cause wrinkles and lines. Beyond the cosmetic, botulinum toxin has a host of other clinical uses like treating migraines, clenched jaws and eyelid spasms. It also has the potential to treat erectile dysfunction.

"It was just this crazy thing that people were having, and I have always been ‘I will try anything once or thrice'," Mathura-Jeffree remembers thinking.

Fast forward 15 years, and Mathura-Jeffree isn’t the only male in his friendship circle using Botox to improve their appearance, including a lawyer who declined to be interviewed for this story because he "wouldn’t want his use of Botox to be the first thing that appears in a Google search”.

Anyway, it’s not Botox. It is “Brotox,” the slang term used to describe the male market for Botox. While women still make up the majority of Botox users, according to three New Zealand medical professionals in appearance medicine, more men are increasingly turning to it to soften and freshen their appearance or treat medical issues, including excessive sweating. And despite the stigma of appearing overly vain, some of them don’t mind talking about it.

There is no specific national data for Botox in New Zealand, but in the US, about six percent of neuromodulator patients, which includes Botox, are men, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. The amount of money American men are spending on Botox rose 400 percent between 2000 and 2023.

​For Auckland-based plastic surgeon Dr Mark Gittos, about 20 percent of his Botox patients are now men. He estimates that two to three percent of his Botox patients were men 25 years ago.​

“... their image of their ideal self is different from what they see in the mirror. It’s different from how they feel and they want to look healthier, happier, less tired, less grumpy,” says Gitto, who has used Botox himself for close to 25 years.

​“I think as plastic surgeons, we should walk the talk. And so, you know, occasionally about. twice a year, I'll get my practitioner Nikki Blakely to give me, you know, a little homeopathic dose in the forehead.

The percentage of male Botox patients at Dr Mark Feeney’s Wanaka-based skin clinic is around five percent, a lower percentage than city centres like Auckland.

Like women, men are seeing their own faces more on video conference calls and on social media such as Instagram and TikTok, he says.

​“...you have a lot of people running businesses who might be presenting all over the world, so, so, you know, they typically want to look a bit fresh, look a bit brighter, so they'll come along for some Botox.

”​A man’s wife might already be using Botox, and she brings him along. Another patient might be motivated by wanting to put their best foot forward in the dating scene following a divorce."

As well as softening lines, Botox can be used to reduce excess sweating because it relaxes the small capillary muscles in the sweat glands. This makes it popular with some of Feeney's male patients.

“...I’ve got lawyers, I’ve got helicopter pilots - anyone in a stressful situation where suddenly they start sweating profusely, businessmen wearing suits, for example. Those sorts of things.”

“So we’ll treat your underarms, reduce the sweating... It’s very effective and will last up to nine months."

When it comes to the face, Botox treatment is similar for men and women, he says. It takes about 10 to 30 units of Botox to subdue, say, the forehead muscles with shallow injections. Botox lasts for about three to four months, so yearly costs that include three sessions typically tally to between $1,500 and $2,000 for forehead and smile lines.

Both male and female Botox clients are also getting younger, says Feeney. People are increasingly turning to Botox to prevent some signs of ageing rather than reverse them.​

Some young men are ingraining themselves in “looksmaxxing,” a trend inspired by TikiTok influencers who turn to sometimes unusual and occasionally unhealthy methods to boost their appearance. This could include extensive skin care routines, chewing gum to enhance their jaw line, through to invasive plastic surgery procedures like removing ribs for a more sculptured waist. 

“I think that we are starting to see more young men through. To get an older man through our doors takes a lot more work, while the young men are much more comfortable taking care of themselves,” says Dr Jenni Irvine, from the Face Place, which has two locations in Auckland. Less than five percent of male Botox patients at the Face Place are male, but it is increasingly a younger demographic.

“The younger man is seeking an upgrade in how he looks, whereas the older man is trying to delay aging changes.”

Michael Beel, 48, an editorial hairstylist, knows a few men in their 20s who use Botox, but the majority are in their late 30s or 40s. He started Botox more than 10 years ago because he felt his travel schedule to train stylists overseas made him look tired.

“I definitely feel lighter, brighter. I've got sort of like heavy eyebrows, so they sort of deal with that and help, not lift them up like a drag queen or anything like that, they sort of just like lift and make my eyes look a little bigger or more open, less sleepy."

Beel has been open about his Botox use from the beginning. “I don't think it's a taboo like it used to be. Everyone wants to put their best foot forward.

“Simple things like Botox or fillers or skincare - guys are definitely much more open to that.”